


For Medicinal Purposes Only

by shaggydogstail



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: First Time, Friends With Benefits, M/M, PWP
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-11-11
Packaged: 2018-08-30 10:49:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8530135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shaggydogstail/pseuds/shaggydogstail
Summary: Sirius suffers nettle rash in a rather intimate area.  James is only helping him out of friendly concern.





	

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry could be a dangerous place, full of fearsome beasts and dangerous magic, so there were many rules laid down to protect the dozens of fresh-faced youngsters who inhabited the castle. The Forbidden Forest, for example, was completely out of bounds, as was the Whomping Willow, the potions store cupboard and that funny little corridor with the low ceiling, next to the statue of Imelda the Immense on the fourth floor. These limits (unlike the ones prohibiting students from entering the professors’ private quarters) were placed purely to protect the welfare of the student body, and for the most part they were more or less adhered to. Except, of course, by those students who felt sure that they Knew Better.

Foremost amongst the ranks of students who Knew Better were James Potter and Sirius Black, who generally considered themselves above the dangers faced by mere mortals and were firmly of the opinion that school rules were more like guidelines, really. So it was no surprise that when Professor Sprout announced that the area surrounding the East bank of the lake had been cordoned off for a new Herbology experiment and was therefore out of bounds that they decided to explore it at their earliest convenience. Really, if they could romp around the Forbidden Forest unscathed, what threat did a poxy patch of plants pose?

Quite a lot, as it happened. The area was planted with what appeared to be common or garden stinging nettles. Sirius insisted that they couldn’t possibly just be normal nettles, or else what was the point of cordoning them off like that? There were patches of nettles all over the school grounds. No, there had to be more to it, Sirius was sure of it. James thought he was probably right, but decided to test the theory by pushing Sirius over the barrier and into the largest clump of nettles to see what happened.

They weren’t normal nettles.

The moment Sirius landed in an undignified heap on his backside in their midst, the nettles started moving. They wrapped themselves around his ankles and twisted around his legs, moving at alarming speed to trap him. This would have been bad enough under any circumstances, but Sirius was wearing his school robes at the time, so the nettles grazed over bare skin, and he suffered greatly for the want of trousers. The nettles left an ugly trail of angry red welts up his calves and thighs, causing Sirius to cry out in pain and surprise. The stings left by the nettles were ferocious, and Sirius yelped in a disgustingly unmanly fashion as he writhed on the ground in agony.

Which was as nothing compared to his reaction when the nettles worked their way into his underpants.

Luckily for Sirius, his best friend might tend towards the reckless and have a cruel streak the size of the Bering Strait, but he wasn’t completely lacking in common sense or compassion. James decided it was time to call a halt to the experiment and, with a few well-placed cutting spells, a good tug on Sirius’ wrist and a moderate amount of swearing from both parties, he managed to pull Sirius out of the nettle bed.

‘Ow,’ said Sirius. It was clearly an understatement, but he looked too distressed to manage anything else. James considered himself rather fortunate that Sirius was really hurt, or he’d have been on the receiving end of a richly deserved hexing.

‘Come on,’ he said gently. ‘Let’s get you back to school.’

Sirius didn’t even complain about James grabbing his arm to support him as he hobbled back towards the castle, which James took as another worrying sign. Ordinarily Sirius would scoff at the mere suggestion that he ever needed help with anything, so things must be pretty bad for him to acquiesce to having James assist him with the basic task of walking. He did, however, get some of his spirit back when James tried to steer him towards the Hospital Wing.

‘’M not going _there_ ,’ he insisted. ‘Bloody Pomfrey will only chew my ear off anyway.’

‘Don’t be stupid,’ James told him. ‘You need something for those stings. I just got a little one on my wrist and it hurts like buggery, so Merlin knows what sort of a state your legs must be in.’

Sirius paled visibly. ‘It’s not just my legs,’ he said quietly. ‘The nettles got a bit…a bit higher up than that.’

‘Oh?’ said James. ‘ _Oh_.’

Sirius nodded grimly. James winced in sympathy. ‘Well, not to worry,’ he said, trying to sound cheerful. ‘I’m sure it’s nothing that she, um, hasn’t seen before.’

Sirius gave him a glare that stated plainly that whatever spectacular sights Madam Pomfrey may have seen in her long and fascinating medical career, the Black family jewels were not amongst them, nor were they ever likely to be.

‘I am not,’ Sirius announced decisively, ‘letting that old witch get her hands on my bits.’

James took a deep breath and tried to contain his annoyance. He knew better than to try arguing with Sirius when he was in this mood. ‘Fine,’ he said, ‘let’s get you back to the dormitory.’

The trip up to Gryffindor tower took much longer than usual, as the simple act of climbing the stairs was agonising for Sirius, who winced every time he took a step. ‘Chafes a bit,’ he muttered when James asked him if he was all right. James wondered if Sirius wasn’t making a bit of a song and dance about the whole thing, but then he wasn’t the one with vicious scarlet sores all over his private parts, so well he might.

When they finally made it to the dormitory, Sirius collapsed on his bed with a dramatic sigh. ‘’M crippled,’ he said as he lay back with his eyes shut. ‘I may never walk properly again.’

‘Oh, give over, you big girl,’ said James unsympathetically as he emerged from the bathroom carrying the jar of Murtlap Essence which was kept in the bathroom cabinet for emergencies. (Emergencies were a frequent occurrence; cuts, scraps, grazes and minor spell damage all being an occupational hazard of Marauding.) He sat down on the end of the bed and rubbed some Murtlap Essence over his own hands and wrists, relaxing inwardly as the stinging sensation faded. ‘Right, come on then,’ he said, grinning as he turned to Sirius. ‘Get your kit off.’

Sirius’ eyes snapped open. ‘What?’

‘Your legs aren’t going to heal themselves, you know,’ James told him. He elected to leave the subject of Sirius’ bits alone for the time being. ‘You’ll have to take your robe off so that I can put the Murtlap Essence on for you.’

‘I am not having you rubbing me with Murtlap Essence,’ said Sirius, folding his arms across his chest and pouting.

‘If you won’t go and see Pomfrey, then I’ll have to,’ said James. ‘You can’t do it yourself—you won’t be able to reach everywhere properly. Someone’s got to and, well, who else are you going to ask?’

‘Oh, all right then,’ Sirius agreed with a scowl. ‘But no funny business.’

‘What do you think I’m going to do?’

Sirius shot him a look of deep mistrust, but sat up anyway and allowed James to help him wriggle out of his school robe, wincing as the coarse fabric brushed over his inflamed skin.

James carefully stowed Sirius’ robe in it’s correct place—a crumpled heap in the middle of the floor—and turned back to inspect the damage. Sirius’ legs were covered in vivid red marks that were raised from his skin. He could almost see the stings throbbing, and there were blisters in places too. It looked agonising. ‘Oh, Padfoot,’ he whispered. ‘I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean–’

‘’S’alright,’ muttered Sirius, waving a hand dismissively. ‘It was an accident, yeah? Worse things happen at sea and all that.’

‘Yeah, right,’ said James, still not feeling any less guilty. He glanced around the room for something clean to use to apply the Murtlap Essence, eventually settling on Peter’s pillowcase, before settling back down next to Sirius’ feet. ‘This might sting a bit,’ he warned as he pressed the dampened pillowcase to Sirius’ ankles.

Sirius let out a soft sigh at the first contact. ‘Better,’ he murmured gratefully.

James continued to work diligently on Sirius’ calves, eventually abandoning the soggy pillowcase in favour of rubbing the Murtlap Essence directly onto Sirius’ skin with his hands. He moved slowly, watching the process with fascination—the way the red spots faded as he smoothed the lotion over them, the contrast between his own fingers and Sirius’ tanned flesh, and the way Sirius’ muscles flexed and contracted under his touch. Of course, that was all just academic curiosity—fascinating process, Healing, or so he’d been told.

As his hands moved above Sirius’ knees, kneading the inflamed skin on his thighs, Sirius let out a breathy moan. ‘Enjoying yourself, are you Padfoot?’ James asked, looking up at Sirius and grinning.

‘It’s, um, very soothing, thank-you,’ Sirius replied. He sounded a little husky, James thought. ‘You certainly don’t seem to have any qualms about groping me.’

‘I could always stop,’ James offered. ‘If it’s making you uncomfortable.’

‘Not at all,’ Sirius assured him. ‘Besides, it’s all your fault I’m in this predicament. Least you can do is to put it right.’

‘Right,’ said James, and he smeared another liberal quantity of Murtlap Essence over his palms, then smoothed his hands a little higher up Sirius’ legs.

‘Actually,’ said Sirius in an oddly constricted tone. ‘It’s more the backs of my legs that are hurting. I think I should lie on my stomach.’

‘If you like,’ agreed James, though he didn’t remove his hands from their position half way up Sirius’ thighs. ‘You might as well, er, finish getting undressed while you’re at it.’

Sirius, never a great believer in excess clothing at the best of times, was only wearing his briefs as it was. ‘Are you trying to get into my pants?’ he asked with a smirk.

James pulled a face. ‘You wish,’ he said. ‘I’m just trying to do a thorough job. Unless you’ve got something to hide.’

That sort of provocation never failed to work on Sirius. He looked straight up at James, jutting his chin out defiantly and staring him squarely in the eye. ‘Not at all,’ he said, not sounding quite as casual as James suspected he’d been attempting to. James turned and looked away as Sirius shuffled out of his pants and lay down on his belly. Despite the unprecedented degree of physical intimacy they’d already shared that afternoon, he had no intention of watching his best friend get naked. He wasn’t some sort of a perve or anything.

James’ hand was shaking slightly when he went back to rubbing Murtlap Essence over Sirius’ thighs. Probably he was getting muscle fatigue from all the massaging or something. He couldn’t resist moving a bit more quickly now, eager to move onto the firm, muscular curve of Sirius’ arse. Which was only natural, really, since it was covered in brilliant red welts and looked very painful. James hoped he could make it all better.

Once he’d finished soothing the sores on Sirius’ legs, James hesitated for a moment. It was one thing to treat the damage on the rest of Sirius’ body, but rubbing his hands over his best mate’s arse was a bit different, although he couldn’t deny that he was very eager to do it. He bit his lip and fiddled with the bottle of Murtlap Essence for a few moments, all the while staring at—no, not staring at, just inspecting the damage to Sirius’ arse.

‘Are you just going to sit there all day?’ asked Sirius eventually, twisting his head around and looking at James over his shoulder. ‘I’m in agony here.’

James brushed aside his own embarrassment with a satisfied smirk. ‘Eager for it, are you?’

‘You’re the one who jumped at the chance to grope my arse in the first place,’ Sirius retorted.

James decided he’d think of a decent come-back for that one later—now, all he wanted to do was to get his hands on Sirius again. To make him better, of course. He drizzled a little Murtlap Essence over the worst of the angry red marks. Sirius sighed with relief as the liquid touched his skin, easing the pain instantly, and his entire body seemed to relax . James smiled to himself—he was glad he was making Sirius feel better—and started to work on massaging the lotion over the rest of his sores.

Aesthetically speaking, Sirius had a very nice arse, there was no denying that. The smooth curves felt pleasantly firm under James’ touch as he applied the Murtlap Essence onto Sirius’ skin in strong, precise movements. He hadn’t really given much thought to arses before, not even on girls—James was more of a breast man—but there was something curiously satisfying about feeling the taut muscles of Sirius’ arse rippling beneath his fingers.

Sirius seemed to be enjoying it too, if the low, breathy moans and muffled grunting sounds he was making were anything to go by.

It occurred to James that if anyone were to walk in at that moment and see Sirius lying naked in the bed with James fondling his arse with both hands, they might jump to the wrong conclusion. Then Sirius moaned again and he promptly decided that he didn’t care.

He picked up the jar of Murtlap Essence again and tipped it up, allowing a small stream of liquid to run down the cleft. James watched it carefully, fascinating by the movement of the glistening liquid and the way it made Sirius wriggle. Mesmerised, he stretched out his index finger and used it to follow the wet trail between Sirius’ cheeks. He had to catch his breath at how good the combination of slick, oily fluid and the warmth from Sirius’ body felt.

It was wrong, really wrong and actually quite disgusting, really, but James couldn’t help himself. Sirius’ breathing had become terribly laboured and he was rocking his hips slightly, grinding into the bed. James could feel every movement, every twitch beneath Sirius’ skin… _fuck_ , he could swear he felt Sirius’ pulse quickening, blood pounding through his veins as James touched him. It was all too much and without thinking about it, without the least idea of what possessed him to do it, James slid his hand down and twisted his fingers _up_ , sliding his index finger inside Sirius’ arsehole in one quick, inelegant movement.

The effect on Sirius was instantaneous: the moment James’ finger thrust inside him he let out a shocked gasp, his head and shoulders lifting off the pillow. James slid his finger back slightly, marvelling at how soft, and warm, and strange Sirius felt on the inside, and Sirius sighed, collapsing back down onto the bed.

James could feel his face growing hot and his own breathing become rapid and shallow. The whole thing was so completely alien to him, so overwhelming and so downright bizarre that he didn’t know what to do.

So he laughed.

He hadn’t _meant_ , to, just like he hadn’t meant to push his finger back up Sirius’ arsehole as he did it, twisting slightly this time, a little roughly. But the James often found himself doing incredibly stupid things without really meaning to.

‘What the fuck do you think you are doing?’ Sirius glared at James over his shoulder as he spoke, looking furious. But James didn’t fail to notice the pinkish tinge to Sirius’ face, nor the faint glow of perspiration on his forehead. ‘Are you some sort of fucking perve or what?’

Sirius wriggled ineffectually underneath him, and tried to bat James away with his hand, landing a pathetic excuse for a punch on James hip. Of course, it wasn’t very easy to land a decent punch from that angle…

James grinned as the realisation hit him. Sirius was _awfully_ determined not to roll over. ‘Don’t pretend you aren’t enjoying it,’ he said, twisting his finger around inside Sirius’ hole as he spoke.

‘Fuck _off_ , Prongs.’

Unperturbed, James carried on, slowly sliding his finger back and forth and then added another so that he was fucking Sirius with two fingers. Sirius made a strange growling noise and pressed his face into the pillow, muttering something that sounded like ‘stop it,’ but James didn’t care. Whatever he said, he obviously didn’t mean it.

Without breaking his rhythm— _in, out, in, out, left, down, up, out_ —James leant forward to whisper in Sirius’ ear. ‘I don’t think you want me to stop at all,’ he said. ‘And I think the reason you haven’t turned over to push me away is that you don’t want me to see quite how much you are enjoying it.’

Sirius’ face was hidden by the pillow, but his discomfort was evident from the way his shoulders tightened at James’ words. ‘Don’t,’ he said quietly.

James slid his fingers out of Sirius’ arsehole at last and moved his hand up so that he could stroke Sirius’ back in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. Sirius shuddered.

‘It’s all right,’ said James softly. ‘Turn over.’

Sirius twisted his head around to look at him, wide-eyed in amazement. ‘What?’

James grinned at him, his most dangerous smile, the one that was all adventure and pranks, full of mischief and teeth and _go on I dare you_. Sirius never could resist it. He pushed Sirius’ shoulder playfully. ‘C’mon,’ he said. ‘Roll over.’

Sirius bit his lip, apparently deep in thought. Then he lifted his chin and looked directly at James with a gaze that was full of defiance and _I’m game if you are_. ‘Fine,’ he said, and flipped back onto his back.

It took James a moment to lower his eyes—he was strangely embarrassed all of a sudden—but when he did, it was clear that he hadn’t been mistaken. Sirius was very, very hard, his erection bobbing up proudly right in front of James’ eyes. The sight was oddly compelling and James found that he was staring at it, transfixed.

‘Right,’ he said at last, snapping himself out of his daze. ‘Better take care of the rest of those stings, yeah?’

‘Right,’ agreed Sirius, seeming a little less nervous now, but just as excited. ‘The nettle rash.’

James sat back up and poured some more Murtlap Essence into the palm of his hand. ‘Right,’ he said again. ‘Purely for medicinal purposes.’

‘Obviously.’ Sirius smiled back at him, eyes twinkling wickedly.

James fought back a surge of nervous panic as looked at Sirius’ cock, which, mercifully, appeared less badly damaged by the nettles than his backside had been. He told himself that his hand wasn’t shaking at all, and tried to ignore his own, now rather painful erection as he smoothed his hand first over Sirius’ hips and the tops of his thighs, marvelling at the way the rash disappeared as he worked.

‘ _James_ ,’ Sirius whined softly, and there was no pretending anymore what he wanted. James was well past the stage were he felt like teasing him, so he rubbed his hand over Sirius’ balls and then grasped his cock.

Sirius gasped, his whole body rising up slightly, and then relaxed back down on the bed. James realised that the last of the nettle rash was gone—there was no need for him to carry on doing this anymore.

He didn’t stop.

He moved his hand up and down Sirius cock, gliding easily with the smooth Murtlap Essence beneath his fingers. The sensation was strange and familiar all at once. James was no stranger to feeling a cock—he’d done it to himself often enough, and Sirius’ wasn’t so very different from his own. But the angle was all different and there was no escaping the fact that this was _Sirius’_ cock that he was touching, or that Sirius was groaning loudly as he did so, thrusting up into James’ fist.

‘James,’ Sirius gasped. ‘Oh, I’m gonna… _ah_.’

James grasped Sirius’ cock a little harder and continued pumping it harder than ever, taking Sirius’ words more as a challenge than a warning. He wanted to make Sirius come.

It didn’t take much, just a few brief, firm strokes and Sirius was crying out, his spunk spattering out over his stomach and James’ hand and sleeve.

James wiped his hand awkwardly on the blanket and lay down next to Sirius, suddenly very conscious of how odd it was to be fully clothed next to his naked best friend. The naked best friend _who I’ve just made come_ , he realised. He blushed, feeling mortified at the thought, though his cock seemed quite happy about it, as it throbbed harder than ever beneath his robes.

‘So…um…’ It was almost unheard of for James to be at such a loss for words. ‘Do you feel any better, then?’

Sirius was still breathing heavily, though he didn’t seem all that bothered by his own nudity or the fact that he was sticky with his own come. In fact, he looked rather pleased with himself. ‘Yeah, cheers,’ he said, looking far more blissed-out than he had any right to as far as James could see. ‘That was very…helpful.’

James really couldn’t tolerate Sirius looking so self-satisfied. Not when he’d done all the work and was left with a stiffy that might just about _kill_ him if it was left unattended any longer. ‘Helpful, good,’ he mused. ‘And educational.’

‘Huh?’

‘Why, yes,’ said James, barely suppressing a vicious smirk. ‘I had no idea you were so totally gay for me until now.’

‘Wanker,’ retorted Sirius, appropriately enough. He shoved James roughly in the side, pushing him off the bed.

James’ backside bumped painfully against the stone floor, and the angle of his landing caused his robes to pull uncomfortably over his straining cock. ‘Ungrateful bastard,’ he muttered. ‘I’ll just leave you to Madam Pomfrey next time you–’

‘–next time I need a hand-job?’ Sirius supplied helpfully. He leant over the side of the bed and looked down at James, his gaze settling on James’ crouch. 

Sirius seemed oblivious to James’ annoyance, and just grinned. ‘You look like you could do with a bit of medical attention yourself,’ he said. ‘Got a spot of groin strain, I see.’

‘Took you long enough to notice,’ said James. ‘Well don’t just lie there looking smug, you could at least do something about it.’

Sirius’ grin grew wider than ever. ‘Tell you what,’ he said with a wink, ‘ask me nicely and I might just kiss it better.’


End file.
